25 “Golden” Years

The first Golden Pear Café opened in 1987 on Main Street in Southampton. Keith Davis, the owner and president of the Golden Pear Café, went on to open three more including one in East Hampton, Bridgehampton and, most recently, Sag Harbor. Davis has a straightforward goal: “To provide customers with an extraordinary experience every time they visit The Golden Pear,” and he lives up to it. The Golden Pear is well known for homemade baked goods, catering, breakfast and lunch.

When asked how he got started in the field, Davis noted, “I began working in the restaurant industry in high school. I developed a desire to open a retail food store/restaurant just after college. I love the energy, the customers and creating high quality food and beverage menu items.”

There are tons of both delicious and healthy items on the Golden Pear’s menu, ranging from oatmeal, waffles and smoked salmon to salads, wraps and soups. Vegetarian items are also available including vegetarian burritos. “The best sellers for breakfast are our organic oatmeal topped with berries and bananas and our Southwestern Ultimate Breakfast Burrito. At lunch time our grilled chicken panini, fresh chopped salads and our famous Texas turkey chili sell best.”

Davis has some of his own personal favorites as well, “For breakfast I love a mocha made with two shots of espresso and Ghirardelli dark chocolate syrup and one of our chocolate croissants. That will wake you up and get you moving in the morning. For lunch it’s the grilled chicken panini with fresh sliced avocado.” The restaurants make fresh roasted coffee on a daily basis, and the commitment to a fine brew brings the customers back again and again.

Davis shares some of his great recipes in The Golden Pear Cafe Cookbook: Easy, Luscious Recipes for Brunch and More from the Hamptons’ Favorite Café. Itwould make a great stocking stuffer.

The Golden Pear does many generous things for the community, including donating over $1,000 dollars to help support victims of Superstorm Sandy. They support many local community organizations as well. “My favorite local charity is the Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch. I have been on their board for 10 years. We sponsor the annual golf outing and other events during the year. We also support The Retreat, SouthamptonFresh Air Home, Human Resources of the Hamptons, Meals on Wheels and this year I made the decision to increase our support to the Wounded Warrior Project. Those great soldiers of ours need our help!”

The Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch is located in Riverhead and gives children who have been victims of abuse, neglect or crisis a place to stay. It was started by Jerrell Hill, a pastor from Riverhead, and has been operating for over 30 years.

Twenty-five years in, Davis isn’t resting on his laurels, “Right now I am working on our menus and improving a few items, adding some new items and making the commitment to use products from our local farms when possible. We can definitely buy local produce and cheeses to help sustain our beautiful farms.”

The Golden Pear Café also has an online shop that you’ll want to check out at www.goldenpearshop.com. On this site you can find fun items to buy including dessert bars, espresso beans, cookies, muffins, chocolate, travel mugs and clothes such as shirts, hats, sweatshirts and Davis’ cookbook.

If you’re looking for fresh and delicious food, whether it’s breakfast or lunch, check out the Golden Pear Café at one of their four locations. They serve breakfast all day so there is no need to worry about missing out on some baked treats. Also keep them in mind for catering whether you’re planning a big party or just feeling the crew. Breakfast buffets, luncheon buffets and even backyard grill station—the Golden Pear’s got it. They even do open houses, bridal showers, beach parties, rehearsal dinners and business meetings.